In Death
by Strawberry Nya
Summary: That was one of the last moments I ever witnessed any raw emotion from Rome, and I should have appreciated it more. After that, things began to crumble.   Rome Germania


Title: In Death

Pairing: Rome+Germania

Warnings: character death, implied slash, use of an unofficial character name

Disclaimer: Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya

AN:

Oh look, history in an APH fanfiction!

Anyways, these are only my views on the fall of the Roman Empire, so excuse me if some of my accuracy is off or whatever since I was going off that and google to help me out. Also if Germania seems OOC, too bad because he's always been a mysterious lil' fella.

This is based off a roleplay me and ~tweetyrules did the other day (and partly on a picture I saw of the hug scene). We've always really enjoyed how deep and dangerous Rome and Germania's relationship could get.

Furthermore, I call Germania "Gabriel" because that's the name I've given him in my head. Rome's unofficial character name is Brutus, but that's never mentioned. Don't like it? Shut up 'cause I dun curr.

Please leave a comment and/or fave as you see appropriate! Thank you.

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><p>It was becoming too much. We all knew that the fame and the power would go to his head. He himself knew this, but nobody was prepared for when it would happen. He was always so sure of himself he often got lost in his own world of victories. He eventually fooled his outer self into truly believing he could never be beaten, even when the back of his mind might have said differently. I remember clearly all the times I tried to argue with him, failing every time I decided to go against his words. Rome could never stop himself; he had always been a man of impulse, thriving on his own gain. When he thought something was going in the right direction, nothing could change his mind if it meant his personal pleasure.<p>

His army was something he took total pride in, though whether or not it was actually successful was always a different story. The man was a wonderful speech giver, one of great inspiration, and a magnificent liar. He could always put false hope into the minds of his soldiers. This was something I knew well. After the battle of Teutoburg Forest, I was forced to become his body guard simply because "we were strong enough to face Rome". I only agreed because it was good for our relations. Even in times like that, when my men had destroyed three of his legions along with their auxiliaries, he still happily said he would never be beaten in the long run, and that I should join him in his victory. For a short time, I myself even believed this along with the rest of them. I suppose he never was beaten fully anyways, in certain peoples eyes; the fall of the Roman Empire could be seen as an act of adaptation rather than destruction, but those people are naive.

I remember him saying this many times. One day, only mere months before barbarians started to invade and the rise of Islam started, he had said what he always did. As usual, I was questioning his entire facade.

The day was warm and sunny, and I had just come back from a meeting followed up by a brisk walk. Walking back to the place where I was staying at the time, I saw him sitting underneath some trees, relaxing as usual, looking as though there was not a care in the world. I didn't want to talk to him because I knew he would only make me angry, so I tried to pass by quickly, but it was all in vain. Soon enough we were talking as usual; him being peppy and me pretending I did not care. He had enquired what was going on in my head, since he was too stupid to sit and think about anything I had to say.

"I think many things," I replied, crossing my arms, becoming annoyed. "Mostly about the new war tactics you've set in place."

Recently Rome had been on a peace binge. All his soldiers went with it, of course, since they respected their leader so much, and took off their armour. They _would_ bring about peace, and this was a way to blatantly show that there was no need for such violence.

Rome perked up slightly. "Good things? Bad things?"

"Analytical things."

"So good things," he said. "I thought so!"

I rolled my eyes. "Not necessarily. Just so you know, a few things might not work. They could easily backfire." I could see he clearly wasn't listening, so I shot him a look. He straightened but just continued to smile. "I don't think you can be so sure that trying to bring about peace in this exact method is really the best way of handling things. People might see you as an easier target for war, rather than want to make peaceful relations with you."

"They'll work, don't worry!" He sounded so sure of himself then, the sun reflecting off his expression already so bright and reassuring it hurt. Rome pat my back and I hastily moved away. "Don't worry, my dear Gabriel."

I frowned. "And if they don't?"

"Then I'll fix them, of course! Just so _you_ know, I can't be beaten!"

"Yes, yes, of course not," I said, shaking my head. He leaned into my side, trying to convince me that he wasn't in fact full of bullshit, but I really wasn't buying it at the time. "Not as of yet. What happens if you come across someone larger and more powerful?"

"It doesn't matter," he said simply. "I have you by my side."

"I suppose you do."

"Forever."

My eyebrows rose in curiosity. "Forever?"

"Of course forever. Right, right?" He stepped closer to me, and despite the height difference managed to get into my face. I could feel my heart beat quicken a little bit as I pushed him away. He just kept trying to get closer. Rome knew that I was uncomfortable with this sort of close proximity; he always knew just how to annoy me, and it was working. "What? Am I making you uneasy?" I shook my head. "Then why won't you answer me?"

I thought, but just for a second. "I don't know the answer."

"Just say, 'right'."

"But that could be untrue."

"I know it's right." He backed up then, his expression turning somewhat serious. I shot him another look, one that asked how he could possibly know the answer to such a thing. He sounded so sure of himself. "Because some things you just _know_."

"Then why bother asking me if you already knew the answer?" I sighed in impatience and he turned away from me, glancing up at the bright, cloudless sky. Silence filled the air for a few moments and I savoured the sound of the wind whistling through my hair and across my ears, closing my eyes briefly.

"If not just in life, in death."

I snapped my eyes open and stared down at him in surprise, my voice quickly being swept away with the wind. For once, profound words spilled out of that mans mouth, filling in what was once silence and making my head over think every word and every motive he may have had up until that point. That was one of the last moments I ever witnessed any raw emotion from Rome, and I should have appreciated it more.

After that, things began to crumble.

The Roman Empire quickly grew and grew until it was too large to control easily. People were adopting local customs and the Empire slowly filled with both natives and barbarians from the conquered lands. Since his soldiers were still all about peace, since _he_ was so sure peace could be brought in his own twisted way, they were an easy target for such barbarians. Soldiers were easily tempted into fleeing from battle, but Rome never changed his ways. In his mind, he was going to win.

But he didn't know that I was planning on stopping all of this.

Things were getting out of control. People were rebelling against Christianity, the Empire split into western and eastern governments, and yet still he was trying to move forward and push people to their limits. I couldn't take being pushed around for such idiotic reasons; he was clearly falling apart and dragging me and my people, among many others, into things.

What he said hit me on the day of our last encounter, those profound words playing over and over in my ears, but I didn't care. He was to be stopped and I was going to stop this man from making the world spiral into his own insanity.

"You need to end this, Rome."

I had approached him from behind. The small, once powerful man was in the middle of the carnage that was formerly his great holy Empire, looking on with a slightly crazed look in his eye. One of extreme desperation.

"End what?" His voice was loud and hoarse, and he didn't turn around.

"The act of taking everything down with you." I glared. It was hard to explain the emotions I felt in that moment. Rage. Annoyance. Pity. Sadness. Frustration. The hilt of my sword pressed against his back, and he immediately straightened. "You're the only one that can stop all of this from happening, and yet, you will not. You need to stop pulling everyone into your own world. Things can change, but you-"

"Don't tell me that," he spat, swiftly moving away from me and turning around, his fists curled at his sides and his eyes narrowed. "I can fix things. I can, and I will!"

I shook my head slowly. "You're insane." That man had the nerve to laugh. I was livid by this time, using my free hand to slap him sharply across the face, and he brought up his own sword. It clinked against mine, the sound of metal scraping against metal loud and clear as I continued to speak. "You're insane if you think you can fix all of this by yourself."

He pushed against my sword. "I'm not by myself, I have you."

"Why would I continue to serve a madman who won't admit to the consequences of his actions?" My voice rose with every word. "If you can't admit that, how can you admit the truth about anything? You're completely _blind,_ Rome! You won't face reality, and I'm here to end it."

And then we fought.

Our swords hit each others and he dodged every one of my moves. Likewise, I dodged his. I was quick, but not quick enough; anger inhibited my preciseness and it showed very clearly. I lunged at him again, this time trying as hard as I could to hit my mark. Instead, he came out victorious and a lock of my hair fell off and got carried away with the wind, something warm and wet sliding down my cheek. With that drop of blood came so many swirling emotions from both of us. We were both desperate for something, two completely different things... or maybe that was a lie. Anger coursed through my veins, thick and pulsing with every ragged breath I drew. I hated him for so many reasons; for lying, for never telling me the truth, for letting himself go in over his head, for dragging me into this entire mess. There were so many things I wanted to say, but nothing came out. Just breath after breath, the blood reaching my chin and dripping onto my clothes into a permanent stain.

For what felt like an eternity we stared at each other. The emotions behind his stance were hard to point out but he was tense for the longest time, until suddenly, visibly, something snapped inside him. Tears fell like silent waterfalls and he dropped his sword; it fell with a heavy thunk. Someone somewhere screamed in agony. The end was near. I just wanted this to be over.

"Why don't you believe in me?" he asked pathetically. I couldn't bring myself to look away. Nothing ran through my mind but bitter, bitter anger. "Why?"

"Face reality," I said simply. My teeth were clenched and my sword still poised and ready for an attack. No further explanation was needed, and I knew he understood me, but like always Rome was being difficult. He'd been difficult from the very start, and that's how he was going to go out.

He shook his head very slowly, coming closer to me. I raised my sword but he put out his hands in a sort of surrender.

"Don't... don't, just yet..." his voice was calm; just going by it, you could never tell he was crying. "Put down your sword."

"And why the hell would I do that?"

Without a word, he opened his arms, and I stared incredulously. What exactly was he meaning? An _embrace_? That was ridiculous.

And yet for some godforsaken reason, I did not stop him. He moved forward slowly, ever closer to my tense form. I was still angry, so angry that every hair on my body stood on end, but he didn't stop and neither did I; when he got close enough, my free hand held the back of his neck tightly, tight enough to be uncomfortable but not hurt. He put his arms around me in a final embrace. It was so soft. I just wanted this to be over.

"I had no doubt one day you'd turn your back on me, Germania," he said, not using my real name in lieu of how far we'd come. I was fine with that. It made things impersonal. "I wanted to see how far I could push you."

I shot him a look, impatient but waiting regardless. He might have thought I was waiting for him to beg for his life, but he knew that was never happening, and somewhere in the back of my mind I felt like I was.

"Do you remember that day?" He watched me closely, and my fists clenched around my sword. "If I'm going down, you're going down with me."

When begging for forgiveness never came, my hand shot up almost reflexively and instantly impaled him; up, forward, thrusting deep into his chest. He wasn't wearing his armor. Crimson blood flowed and stained everything in its path; the ground, himself, my sword, my hands, my mind.

Rome shook, his knees buckling against the pain, holding onto my shoulder tightly so he wouldn't give up and fall. The yelp of pain he gave echoed in the air around us and I flinched.

"This is for your own good," I pushed out, voice strained and angry. "I'm helping you from becoming a completely different person."

"You could..." he tried speaking, blood gurgling in his throat and spilling out the sides of his mouth. "You could have changed me..."

I pushed in further. He screamed and more blood continued its way out of his body. "No. You yourself even said nothing you could say would change the future." I started to tremble. The words that came out of my mouth and the words that danced inside my head were different. "And it didn't."

I could see the last bit of reality slipping away from him, his eyes looking far, far away. I waited with my breath held and my hand trembling, not pulling away yet, not until he snapped his gaze back up to me. I stared and regretted my decision right away; there in the middle of the deep, darkness of his brown eyes was me. I could see myself clearly there and even as many moments passed my figure never blurred, and how I desperately wished it would. I didn't want to stay there, I didn't. I was lying again. I did. I wanted to be there for the rest of eternity.

He gathered the last bit of strength he could muster in all of two seconds. In those two seconds, he shot me the most beautiful and terrifying look he had ever given me, and his lips turned upwards into a smile that was as bright as ever.

"I know."

I could feel my entire body shake with regret.

Together forever. If not just in life, in death.


End file.
